Material Transfer Agreement Guidelines

A material transfer agreement (MTA) is a contract under which one party (the provider) makes a tangible product, material, or resource available to another party (the recipient) for use in a research project. An MTA is incoming if UWM is receiving the material and outgoing if UWM is sending the material off campus.

MTAs for Incoming Materials

In the U.S., most educational institutions and many non-profits use the Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) (.docx), which was developed to facilitate the exchange of research material for non-commercial purposes. Governmental agencies usually provide materials under similar terms.

Private, for-profit entities almost always present recipients with an MTA of their own design. If the material is highly valued, the provider may seek to impose a number of onerous provisions on the recipient, including:

• All recipient inventions resulting from the use of the material belong to the provider.
• Publications reporting the use of the material must be approved by the provider or can be delayed for more than 90 days.
• The recipient must indemnify the provider and/or submit to the jurisdiction of an out-of-state court.

Provider Type	Recommended Action for Principal Investigators
Domestic Educational/ Non-profit	Suggest using a Simple Letter Agreement (.docx) (terms are consistent with the UBMTA) or use provider’s form. Complete and sign MTA. Email it to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu). Include the provider’s complete contact information.
Foreign Educational/ Non-profit	Start with the provider’s form or suggest using the Simple Letter Agreement (.docx). Complete, sign, and email the MTA to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu).
Domestic Government Agency	Provider will likely have its own form using terms consistent with UBMTA. Complete, sign, and email the MTA to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu).
Foreign Government Agency	Provider will have its own form. Complete, sign, and email the MTA to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu).
Domestic or Foreign For-profit	Provider will typically have its own form. Complete, sign, and email the MTA to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu).

MTAs for Outgoing Materials

UWM faculty members can transfer materials to educational or non-profit organizations under the terms of the Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement, unless the material is owned by the UWM Research Foundation, in which case the request begins there for processing.

Provider Type	Recommended Action for Principal Investigators
Domestic or Foreign Educational/Non-profit/ Government	If material has been assigned to the UWM Research Foundation, refer request Brian Thompson, UWMRF president. If you have authority to transfer the material and the recipient is signatory to UBMTA, use the UBMTA Implementing Letter (.docx); otherwise use the Simple Letter Agreement (.docx). Complete and sign the MTA (include the recipient’s complete contact information). Email the MTA to Kate Mollen (mollen@uwm.edu) and Melody Harries (harries@uwm.edu).
For-profit	Refer the request to OSP for review; contact Kate Mollen at or-osp-contracts@uwm.edu.